The Milan exchange. (Milan, Gibson County, Tenn.) 1874-1978, 1887-02-26
THE HOHENZOLLERNS
PrerOgatives and Traditional Policy of the
Ruling Family of Germany.

The royal house OF HOhenzOllern are
descended from Count Thassilo, of
Zollern, one of the Generals of Charlie
magne. His successor, Count Fried
rich l., built the family castle of Hohen-
zollern, near the Danube, in The year
$50. In 1415, the head of the family
obtained possession of the province
of Brandenburg, and two years later
was recognized as an ElectOr of the En-
pire. A century later, the province of
Prussia came into the possession of the
family, through the election of AL
brecht, younger son, TO the post Of
Grand Master of the province. This,
together with the additions to the
family possessions made by Friedrich
Wilhelm in the seventeenth century,
encouraged the son of the Great
Elector" to crown himself King at
Konigsberg, January Is, 1701. under
the title of Friedrich l. From this time
forward the dominions of the King of
Prussia steadily increased, until, after
the war of 1866, the kingdom covered
1877, 066 square miles, with a population
of nearly 20, 100000. With this growth
in power came the natural rivalry with
Austria. AS far back as 1888 Prussia
had formed the Zollverein, or customs
union, of the German powers, exclud-
ing Austria. This was small loss
financially to the great empire Of
Austria-Hungary, but it constituted
tie between Prussia and the German
States, and threatened Austria's posi-
ton as head of the German Confedera-
ton. This led to numberless jealousies
and chickering's, until finally, in 1866,
Prussia determined to exclude Austria
from the Confederation. The victory
at Sadowa, JulyS, settled this question,
and Prussian influence became supreme
in Germany; so that during the Franco
Prussian war of 1870 King Wilhelm
became Emperor Wilhelm l. of a newly
organized German Empire.
The Hohenzollerns have always been
despotic rulers. The kingdom had no
definite constitution until 1849. Before
that the Kings had entrusted" to a
convocation of the provincial assem-
blies the right to be called upon to assist
in raising money, by borrowing or by
new taxes, but this practically amounted
to little, as the King controlled the
main sources of revenue, the crown
lands and the custom duties. A PrussiaH
diet was established in 1S47, and
the deputies assembled with great hopes
of obtaining share in the Government.
Disappointed in this hope, the tone of
the liberal members became diSlOyal TO
the Kings prerogatives. Some of them
compared the situation with that of the
English after the revolution of 1858.
In answer to this, Captain (nOw Prince
Won Bismarck, who sat as alternate for
the representative of the Knights estate
of Jerichow, rose and replied that 1.-THE
English people were then in = different
position from that of the PrusSian peO-
pie now. A century of revolution and
civil war had invested it with the right
to dispose of the crown and bind it up
with conditions accepted by William of
Orange. The Prussian sovereigns were
in possession of q crown, not by grace
of the people, but by grace of Cod an
actually unconditional crown, some of
the rights OF which they voluntarily
conceded to the people-an example
rare in history" This was the position
taken by the crown and its supporters.
Compare it with the pretension of James
, l. of England, that the rights of Parlia-
ment were derived from the tolerance
, Of the throne.
But popular sentiment was strongly
infavor of liberal'government, and riots
occurred in Berlin, which the King tried
!, vainly to subdue by concessions, first Of
anew ministry, and second of increased
. powers to the Diet. The final crushing
= of this instruction led to cOnserva-
tive reaction, ,and the constitution Of
1S49 confirmed many of the disputed
!, powers ofroyalty. Bismarckwas looked
!, upon as a rising man at this time, and
i the King soon recognized his merit by
employing him as his representative in
J the German Diet at Frankfurt. King
Friedrich Wilhelm w. died in 1861,
and was succeeded by his brother, the
L present sovereign. This confirmed Bis.
J, marck's power, and when in 1862 the
Diet refused the appropriations neces-
l. sary to carry out the Government policy
the Ministry resigned, and the King
Il sent for Bismarck, who was in Paris
and made him Chancellor. The policy
: of Bismarck has always been that of des-
u potic rule, and the Emperor, though in
no sense a tyrant is so completely un'
u der the sway of the traditional policy o.
/ the Prussian Kings that he can not un
, derstand how a government can be sta
BILE without a strong element of dOspOt
!" ism. Chicago Inter ocean.